the deep southern delta region (New Orleans for short).

For a lot of you younger folks, this music is the kind of music you may have only heard during those momentary screenings of black and white silent cartoons they sometimes show on TV. See, that music was actually quite popular back when America was just finding her musical feet, back when Louis Armstrong was showing the world just how talented a human being could be (let alone a Black man!), back when the deep South was the undeniable cradle of American musical civilisation.

And you know what? That sound still rips today! Well at least it did on Saturday night at the City Hall Theatre, when the legendary Dukes of Dixieland band graced the stage and demonstrated that jazz can be as up beat and energetic as the most frenetic dance music on earth! The show started at 8 p.m. sharp (the Bermuda Festival don't play ya'll!) with the blazing 'Bourbon Street Parade', a song the band has made its theme over the years. I immediately knew that I was in for a treat when the six-man ensemble broke into the `Original Dixieland One-Step' -- not because I knew the song, but because the sound was so authentic and bouncy that I knew I'd love these guys.

Those of you getting into the New Orleans bounce sound these days should know that there's nothing new about it! Them cats were playin' bounce music since before the turn of the century sun ... called it Dixieland back then. Still sounds good today I'm telling you! `Basin Street Blues' was next, followed by the scorching Louis Armstrong standard `Dipper Mouth Blues', a song that Kevin Clarke shredded with his lethal trumpet scats. Jammin'! In fact, the solo features were perhaps the best performances of the evening. I won't be too bold in saying that Earl Bonie's clarinet would impress even the most caustic critic, especially when the band plays the down home classic `Just a Closer Walk With Thee', or the hauntingly beautiful French import `Petit Fleur' (a Sydney Bichet standard).

Then there's Jamie Wight's piano solo, called `Grandpa's Spells', which is at the very least spellbinding.

Everett Link shines behind the standing bass throughout, and especially on the extraordinary rendition of Bob Crosby's `Big Noise From Winnetka'. Now that's a performance that has to be seen to be believed! `Tiger Rag' must be a song about what a tiger can do to an old dusty rag, because Ben Smith rips that song to shreds, and leaves the audience breathless in the process. Ben holds down the trombone and vocal duties with more flair than a search and rescue ship (I know it's spelled flare, but that's okay if you didn't get it anyway ain't it?).

Then there's the maestro, the conductor, the Cap'n -- Mr. Richard Taylor, the man behind the motor (drums for the uninitiated). Richard holds the entire show together and lays down the rhythms that need to be heard for it all to make sense. And believe you me, it all makes sense! This was an awesome show! It embodied the kind of polished professionalism and skill that everyone deserves to experience at least once in their lifetime.

Six top-notch musicians jammin' together for the cause of musical elevation almost always makes for a rollicking' good time, and this night was no exception! Hey people, if you ain't fittin' ta go check these guys out ... you should be! They'll be playing again tonight and tomorrow night too ... don't miss 'em.

VEJAY STEEDE Jumping: The upbeat and energetic Dukes of Dixieland THEATRE THR REVIEW REV